I have passed all the stages of the recruit process and I am now waiting on a start date. I have been put on a short term allocation list, do any of you have any experience with this process? I have been told the next free allocation for Weapons Engineering Technicians is June. How short term is this list?

Any help appreciated, just wondering how much longer I need to wait before finally never having to sell another extended warranty on a TV or Laptop!

Could be june, could be before of after. Not sure if there is a difference between being bid for entry or being on the short term list but the general advice is to keep fitness up in case a cancellation place comes up, but be prepared to wait. Did your AFCO give you a predicted wait time in months? They will keep you informed when a place comes up, hard to predict though.

They didn't give an estimation in months, just said likely before June. I am Keeping fitness up and weight down hopefully! It's had the welcome side effect of dropping me a weight class at Judo, which is fun. It's difficult to make plans without a concrete date it has put my life on hold. I have absolutely no idea how often intakes are at Raleigh for Weapons Engineering Technicians. I consulted the Google search on the site and it seems to be one every 2 months or so. Can't see anything about this sort term allocation list though. I was told they could give me the June start, but this is meant to be quicker. It's all a bit exciting but uncertain!

It is possible it can be swift, someone recently got offered a start date for 3 weeks time after being told a likely date for entry would be late 2014. Depends if people drop out or they need to run an extra class to meet the requirements of the service i guess- ninja may be able to explain further but if you are unsure best to call your AFCO and ask for clarification. I know what you mean about having a start date to work towards but it is just the way it is. Alot of people entering Raleigh this year have been waiting 3 years and i was given a 30 month estimate so even if it is june next year it is really not that long to wait.

Yeah, I didn't hear anything after my PJFT so I called up to see what was happening. They said that they were going to put me on the June intake but put me on the Short term allocation list instead. I would think that one phone call would be proactive but two would be pestering them. I did think June was quick after hearing of some huge waits. I may ask to get put on that intake just to have some certainty. What's another 6 months, it took me three years to loose the weight to pass the medical. On the other hand I would like to be going going sooner rather than later. Just hope if a place does come up I can get some notice to get my stuff squared away. Work notice ect.

When I applied in April this year for ET WE, I was told I could expect between March and June 14 intake. Still not heard from my AFCO with any start date yet, after completing Security Clearance. Is this normal?

Congratulations on losing the weight, another call could be considered pestering if you asked the same thing- but if you want clarification on what being on that list means then it would be a useful one as at present you seem somewhat unsure. You can refuse a short notice date but hopefully you'll have sufficient time to square everything away anyway

Jack: how long ago did your SC clear? They will let you know when you get allocated a start date, but when my SC was granted i called just to triple check i had nothing left to do or submit and that. Might also be able to give you an indication of what your date might be.

Seems, after some lurking on the forums about that the Recruitment process varies in order AFCO to AFCO. My defence vetting was after my interview and before medical and PJFT. I just called up and asked. It is a job your applying for, can't hurt to be proactive. My concern was making too many phone call, they are allways very friendly and happy to help.

Seems, after some lurking on the forums about that the Recruitment process varies in order AFCO to AFCO. My defence vetting was after my interview and before medical and PJFT. I just called up and asked. It is a job your applying for, can't hurt to be proactive. My concern was making too many phone call, they are allways very friendly and happy to help.

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The process changed recently, used to be interview and SC after the medical, eyetest and pjft- just been shifted about a bit.

Thanks Rachel, I feel much better for it. Has had the side effect of making me much less tolerant of people complaining about it being too difficult to loose weight and get fit. Shame its much more fun to put on! Yeah I going to give the AFCO a call. Was just wondering if anyone had had went through the same process.

Haha yeah, i could happily eat all the time if it wouldn't affect my health or weight, food is amazinggg! I like keeping fit and eating well now i am into the swing of it, took a while to make it an enjoyable part of my lifestyle though. Hopefully someone will be along to enlighten you further about the short list, i am just an applicant waiting for a date myself and when everything was done was bid for entry and that was that really

Yeah, it's fun training and getting fitter. Shame junk food is so much easier and cheaper than healthier food. Hopefully after folks finish work they will be able to clarify how short, short term allocation lists actually are. What have you applied for then?

When I applied in April this year for ET WE, I was told I could expect between March and June 14 intake. Still not heard from my AFCO with any start date yet, after completing Security Clearance. Is this normal?

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Im in exactly the same position jack, we should get a date in the next 2 months I reckon

Generally, unless you're lucky enough to be top of the roster when a candidate ahead of you, drops out, you can expect a waiting time predicted by your careers adviser.

Unless things suddenly change with regard numbers required in your chosen branch, you are usually notified anything between 6-9 months ahead of a routine entry date.

A few months back, around 40% of those given a start date were turning down entry dates as their circumstances had changed during the wait to join. This caused an overall shortening of timescales, particularly in over-subscribed 'long wait' branches.

Occasionally, people fall lucky and you could get a call, completely out of the blue asking: "Are you available to join in 4 weeks?" Problem is, you still have to successfully undertake a PRNC and pass the 1.5 mile run & at least be able to swim 50 metres with minimal notice. The advice, quite obviously, is keep yourself fit.

One candidate I know of, had the opportunity to join about six months ahead of his/her predicted entry date, having already waited a couple of years. Attended PRNC failed the physical. Result? Back of the queue, had to re-take recruiting test, claimed injury- so had to re-take medical, TMU weight. A year later, still not passed PJFT & no closer to joining now than when first taking the recruiting test, four years ago.

Jeez they could have joined and left by now more or less! Such a waste to fail on fitness as they must have had the ability at the PJFT just not bovvered to keep it up. I suppose if you are going to fail may as well do so spectacularly just for impact.

Och well, better just put that pie back in the fridge. It seems I'll just keep training and eating healthy, nothing wrong with that. It's hard to keep sprinting I'd you don't know when the finish line is though.

Och well, better just put that pie back in the fridge. It seems I'll just keep training and eating healthy, nothing wrong with that. It's hard to keep sprinting I'd you don't know when the finish line is though.

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The elusive finish line, or is it the starting line? Either way i understand what you mean but then i remember it's the same for loads of us, you'll probably get your date soon anyhow the wait is frustrating but i lucked out and am covering someones maternity leave for a bit where i work which is amazing pay and keeps me busy, stops me getting so hurry upppp about the whole thing. That said will be over the moon when it finally comes through! I enjoy exercise now and even if the navy never happens ill keep it up, except for circuits; they are evil but a neccessary one

How do your AFCO inform you of your start date, is it over the phone or via a letter ? Thanks

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We try all methods to notify the individual.

Very often we try to leave messages on home phones but they are "full" of messages, don't switch to answerphone or have been disconnected without informing the AFCO.

For Mobile phones, individuals often forget to tell their AFCO when they change their number, don't pick-up messages or don't answer the phone because the AFCO phone numbers sometimes appear as an "unknown number"

We also send letters, but you'd be amazed the amount of letters that "Mum must've thrown away" because it arrived in a nondescript envelope.

Emails are sent also, but the amount of people that don't check emails is truly staggering.